South Africa’s Harmony Gold expects to start producing copper from its Australian mining project by 2028, the company said on Thursday, as it diversifies into the key decarbonization metal.
Harmony acquired the Eva copper project in Queensland in 2022 to diversify away from gold and is in the process of updating the project’s feasibility study.
“We want to make the final investment decision by the end of the (financial) year. It’s a two year build, then Eva Copper will be in production,” Harmony CEO Peter Steenkamp told Reuters in an interview.
The mine is expected to produce up to 60,000 metric tons of copper annually, he said.
Early work, including building access roads, has started at the project, reflecting Harmony’s confidence it will go ahead, he added.
Harmony on Thursday posted 11.474 billion rand ($645.01 million) headline earnings in the year ended June 30, a 132% increase on the previous year, driven by higher gold production, better grades and record prices.
As a result, Harmony generated 12.7 billion rand operating free cash flows, a company record.
The company said it had a $700 million “war chest” made up of cash and credit facilities, to fund its projects including Eva Copper and life extension at its Moab Khotsong and Mponeng gold mines in South Africa.
Harmony declared a final dividend of 0.94 rand per share, up from 0.75 rand, but its share price fell 10% to a five-month low in mid-morning trade after it forecast lower output and higher costs for the current financial year.
It expects gold production of between 1.4-1.5 million ounces in the year to June 2025, after output rose 6% to 1.56 million ounces in the financial year just ended. Harmony’s average realized gold price increased 16% as bullion prices surged to record highs.
Steenkamp said Harmony’s output would stabilize around 1.4 million ounces over the long term.
($1 = 17.7888 rand)
(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Subhranshu Sahu and Christina Fincher)
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